SolarWorld continues improving its solar panels’ output efficiency. In addition to introducing PERC technology, the company announced to jump from three to five bus bars for even higher-efficiency cells. SolarWorld believes that PERC technology and five bus bars solar panels will top the list of today’s most efficient crystalline silicon solar panels.

By moving from three to five bus bars, the primary electrical contacts that stripe PV cells, SolarWorld can manufacture cells in which electrons travel shorter distances from grid lines to bus bars and thus enable more to reach the bus bars. The advance lifts module power by 2 percentage points.

The company’s factory in Hillsboro, Ore., began producing cells featuring five bus bars early this spring. Production of these cells for certain products will ramp up this summer. The milestone is a yet another step along the company’s path to manufacture the industry’s first 300-watt, p-type, standard 60-cell modules at production volumes.

"SolarWorld is constantly driving solar technology advances into the future,” said Mukesh Dulani, president of SolarWorld Americas Inc., based in Hillsboro. “Our customers count on us to push the leading edge of high-standard mainstream solar technology. We never stand pat on our record of high quality, reliability and efficiency.”